Kingdom Hearts: The Heartless' Revenge
by Cassie Sterling
Summary: When a new Keyblade is found, a new King of Darkness will show himself to release the darkness within. Only with the power of the twin Keyblades can the darkness be subdued. 2nd in the Trilogy! Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1: The Highland Chocobo Eater

Kingdom Hearts: The Heartless' Revenge  
  
By: Cassie Sterling  
  
Chapter 1: The Highland Chocobo Eater  
  
It was another ordinary day on Besaid Island... Well, it would be had there not been one thing going on. That was Sora trying to learn to ride a Chocobo so he could race Riku on his Chocobo, Destiny.  
  
"Are you sure this is how I'm supposed to be riding this?" asked Sora. He was having a doozy trying to control the big yellow bird.  
  
"That's the way," said Riku, "but you need to loosen up a bit on the reign."  
  
"Like this?" Sora asked as he loosened up his grip on the reign. The Chocobo didn't seem so edgy under him now.  
  
"Just like that!" said Riku. "See? You're getting the hang of it!"  
  
"Yea, I am," laughed Sora. "Looks like we'll get to have that race after all this afternoon."  
  
"Yup," smirked Riku.  
  
The two laughed as they got ready to take their Chocobos for a little ride before the race.  
  
Watching the two boys laugh and have a good time were Riku's two friends that he'd met up with during his last adventure: Cloud Strife and Squall "Leon" Leonhart. Both of them had lost their worlds and their friends to the Heartless, but with Riku's help, they had at least gotten their friends back, and all of them had gotten a home on Besaid Island, the place Riku had found his friends Tidus and Wakka at. Little did they all know that the darkness would be returning with a new King of the Shadows... one that wanted revenge on the Keyblade master that had taken the life of the ones who were his parents.  
  
Squall looked at Cloud. "Those two sure look like they're having fun," said Squall.  
  
"Yea," said Cloud. "Yet, they're so competitive as well..."  
  
"That's how they've always been," said a young girl's voice.  
  
Cloud and Squall looked behind them and saw Kairi.  
  
Kairi continued, "Even before I came to their island, they were like this, but watching them work together was always amazing as well."  
  
"I bet it was," said Cloud.  
  
Kairi nods. "Yes," said Kairi. There seemed to be a bit of worry in her voice now. "Even tho the Heartless are gone, I still feel their presense somewhere..."  
  
"Yea," said Squall, "but even if they are still around, they can't get back into the worlds. The Keyholes to each of the worlds were locked by Riku shortly after we defeated Ansem to make sure if there was another Heartless threat that they couldn't get back into the worlds through the Keyholes. Even if they did return, they still fear they Keyblade and Riku."  
  
"I hope you're right... I really hope so," said Kairi.  
  
"You're not the only one," said Cloud. There was a definate hint of worry in his voice, tho it was hard to tell it.  
  
Meanwhile, Tidus was showing Riku and Sora the best place for racing.   
  
"Just stay within the flags, and you'll be okay," said Tidus.  
  
"What happens if we get outside the flags?" asked Sora.  
  
"Well, that's where the Chocobo Eater is," said Tidus.  
  
"Chocobo Eater?" asked Riku. "I've never heard of such a beast."  
  
"Well, believe me, Yuna, myself, and Wakku saw the thing first hand while trecking in the highlands around Wakka's village. We came to this area when there was a lot of Chocobos that could be ridden, and all of the sudden, we heard this terrible noise. The next the we know, this huge monster came running out of the woods and started chasing the Chocobos before catching one of the Chocobos. Tho the Chocobo struggled to get free from the grip of the monster, it couldn't, and in one gulp, the monster ate the poor thing. Wakka, myself, and Yuna knew that if we were going to get a ride, we were going to have to scare off the beast before it ate all of the Chocobos," said Tidus.  
  
"So, did you?" asked Sora.  
  
"Yea, but it took a a long time. Still, you wouldn't want to come across it riding on a Chocobo. Man, can that thing run fast!" said Tidus.  
  
"Yikes," said Sora.  
  
"Eh," said Riku. "I doubt it's nearly as bad as some of the things that Squall, Cloud, and myself came across during our journey to stop the Heartless from taking over all of the worlds."  
  
"You never know," said Tidus. "Well, have fun, you two. I'll come back with the others once you two are set for the race, okay?"  
  
"Gotcha," said Sora. "See you in a bit, Tidus!"  
  
Tidus waved and ran back to where the others were. Sora and Riku got at the starting line.  
  
"We'll have three pratice runs before the race, okay?" said Riku.  
  
"Gotcha," said Sora.  
  
Riku got Destiny ready to run. "On three, we race," said Riku. "One... two... three!"  
  
They take off, and soon, the run was over, and Riku had won it with Sora not too far behind him.  
  
"Not bad, Sora," said Riku. "You almost had me that time."  
  
"Yea," said Sora. "I bet I'll have you in this next run!"  
  
"Maybe," laughed Riku, "but you can never tell can you?"  
  
Sora nodded. "Yea."  
  
They headed back to the starting line and got ready to race again unaware that they were being watched by something... the same thing that Tidus had warned them about: the Chocobo Eater.  
  
Sometime later, the second run was done, and this time it had been Sora that had won. Riku was definately impressed by his friend's control over his Chocobo.  
  
"Wow, Sora... You managed to beat me that time!" said a very surprised and impressed Riku. "You've really gotten better over these last few times."  
  
"Yea," said Sora. "And just think... after this final run, we can go get our friends to watch us race!"  
  
"Yea!" said Riku.  
  
Just then, their Chocobos started getting nervous... and then there was a terrible noise as a huge monster burst from the trees and started running at them. Riku and Sora couldn't believe their eyes.  
  
"The Chocobo Eater!" exclaimed Sora. "Riku, what are we going to do?"  
  
"You're going to go get help. I'll distract it while you get Tidus, Cloud, and Squall."  
  
"Okay, but be careful!" Sora said as he spurred his Chocobo and raced back to the village.  
  
Riku got off of his Chocobo and sent it back to the village as well. The Chocobo Eater started to chase after it, but Riku used a Thundaga spell on the creature. "Hey, ugly!" Riku shouted. "Over here!" The Chocobo Eater turned back in Riku's direction. Riku's Keyblade returned back to its normal size, and he clutched it tightly as he stared the beast down.  
  
-Sora, hurry up... I don't know how long I'll be able to hold this thing off without help!- Riku thought desperately.  
  
Squall and the others were waiting for when it would be time for Riku and Sora to race against one another when they saw a Chocobo kicking up dust as it ran back to the village at top speed. It was Sora on his Chocobo. Another Chocobo, this one riderless, soon followed him. Tidus, Wakka, Squall, and Cloud ran over to where Sora was at.  
  
"Sora, what's happened? Where's Riku?" asked Tidus.  
  
"It appeared... The Chocobo Eater! Riku distracted it while I came to get help!" Sora said desparately.  
  
Tidus frowned. "Oh, damn," said Tidus. "That thing is tough. We'd better hurry because Riku won't be able to hold it off by himself for much longer!"  
  
Cloud and Squall nodded. "Let's get there before that happens!" said Cloud. "We're still a team, remember?"  
  
"Right!" said Tidus. "Let's go!"  
  
With that, they headed on to help Riku take down the Chocobo Eater before it had its first taste of human flesh.  
  
"So Mr. Big, Dumb and Two-Tongued, have you said your prayers yet?"  
  
Riku, ready for anything, looked up at the horrific, brown scaled beast. The fiend pounded its two gigantic fists into the ground in a fit of rage much like an ape or gorilla. He roared at Riku trying to intimidate him or at least kill him with bad breath. Riku, trying to fan the smell, waved his hand in front of his face as he gagged.   
  
"Whoa! That REEKS, ugly! Ever heard of a breath mint?" asked Riku.   
  
The Chocobo Eater took offense and slammed down a fist where Riku's head was. Yet, the quick boy from Destiny Islands easily dodged the attack and took a few rounds out of the Chocobo Eater's hand.  
  
The burly monster kept swinging back and forth with an array of hooks, jabs, and very fierce punches, but Riku was too swift for the fiend. The chosen one kept swinging in combo after combo at the monster and doing some serious damage.  
  
Riku slashed at the Chocobo Eater fiercely and dropped it to the ground on his back. For a bipedal fiend, it had a hard time getting back up onto its legs. Riku thought that this would be a great chance to retreat back the way Sora went to go get the others and to finish the fiend off. He was strong, but the Chocobo Eater was a resilient creature. He turned to run.   
  
Suddenly, the Chocobo Eater pointed at Riku when his back was turned. Riku's back became red hot as the fiend's Firaga spell damaged him greatly along with the forest trees. Riku turned around to see the Chocobo Eater, still on its back, but still not out of attacks....  
  
"Geeze!" Riku, smarting, said. "Doesn't this thing ever know when to quit? I just hope that Sora's found the others soon!"  
  
The Chocobo Eater casts another Firaga at Riku, and Riku dodges. He doesn't see the second one coming and gets hit.  
  
"Ouch!" Riku cries out in pain as he collasped to his knees. He was too weak to do anything. "Darnit! I won't be able to get out of the way of his next attack! I'm a goner now!"  
  
The Chocobo Eater casts yet another Firaga at Riku, and he closed his eyes preparing for the worst...  
  
"Shield!" Cloud called out just in time.  
  
Riku opened his eyes and saw that the Chocobo Eater's attack had hit a shimmering barrier.  
  
"Riku, are you okay?" asked Cloud.  
  
"Yea," said Riku. "Just a bit weakened from all those Firagas that Chocobo Eater has been firing at me."  
  
"I've got just the thing," said Squall. "Catch!" He tosses Riku an Elixer.  
  
"Thanks, Squall!" Riku said as he caught it. He quickly drank the liquid and was healed. Riku looked at Tidus. "How do we beat this thing?"  
  
"You'll have to use your summons," said Tidus. "That's the only way to kill it really fast."  
  
"Gotcha!" said Riku. He looked at his two friends. "Let's do it!" Cloud and Squall nodded.  
  
Riku went first. He held the purple summon jem and called out, "Ixion!" It began to shine a bright violet. From the gem, a horse's whinny erupted from the jewel. As soon as the neigh was emitted, a gigantic portal emerged behind Riku emitting a thunderbolt that caught onto his Keyblade. Riku held on as he could feel something on the other end of the lightning bolt. Something wanted out from the portal. He heaved forward as hard as he could, and a white horse with a golden horn leaped out from the portal. Ixion, wanting to to protect the group, landed in front of Riku.  
  
Cloud went next. Drawing his hand across his blade, a glowing ring encircled him before he thrust his sword up high. The jewel shone red, and with a wave of water from the nearby lake, Leviathan appeared behind the group. He was too large to be in front of the party.  
  
Squall brought his Gunblade in front of him and began to concentrate. When he felt the presence of the Guardian Force near him, Squall brought his blade downwards and whipped his hand out in front of him as if to call something to him. From above the Highlands, something was coming down from high above. Then suddenly, a large dragon broke through the clouds and headed to the Highlands. Dust was kicked up behind Squall as the Guardian Force landed behind him ready to attack.  
  
The Chocobo Eater prepared to attack the party once again with Firaga. Ixion took the advantage and unleashed a rain of lightning bolts onto the monster lighting it up. Levithan followed the attack up by unleashing a tidal wave powering up Ixion's attack and harming the monster some more, but it wasn't enough. Now, it was Bahamut's turn to unleash his attack, Mega Flare. Bahamut flew up high and unleashed a massive beam at the monster causing a massive explosion. The party and the other two summons were protected because Bahamut had put a shield around them before the attack had began. The Chocobo Eater was still standing but barely. Now was the time for the final attack. The three summons combined their attacks to unleash the Giga Flare which KO'ed the Chocobo Eater.  
  
After the Chocobo Eater fell, Cloud and Squall looked at Riku who was still a bit shaken.  
  
"Riku, are you all right?" asked Squall.  
  
"Yea..." said Riku. "I'm glad Sora was able to tell you guys in time. I was going to head on with Sora to where you guys were, but the thing was too fast. If I hadn't have caused it to turn around, it would've chased after Sora and Destiny and eaten them as well..."  
  
"It's okay," said Cloud. "At least you thought of a plan before rushing into battle which shows you're definately growing up."  
  
"Yea," said Riku. "Think Sora can bring Destiny up here? I think it's time for a Chocobo Race!"  
  
"I'll go get the others and tell Sora to bring your Chocobo up here!" said Tidus. He took off leaving the three heroes standing alone for a little bit.  
  
Sora and the others came on back to the race area, and Riku got onto his Chocobo. Then Tidus started the race, and the two took off. By the time they got to the finish line, it was hard to tell who won, but Vincent could see that it was clearly a tie. But it was getting late in the day, so the heroes decided to turn in unaware of what was about to happen that very night... 


	2. Chapter 2: Night of Destiny

Chapter 2: Night of Destiny  
  
It was later that night that a storm besieged Besaid Island, but this was no ordinary storm, as Riku soon found out. He'd been walking around enjoying the night when he saw some very familiar monsters... monsters he thought he had sealed up for good. "Heartless!" Riku exclaimed. He took the charm off of his necklace and tossed it up into the air where it transformed back into the Keyblade. Riku caught the Keyblade and got into a fighting stance. "You want me? Come and GET me!" Riku yelled as he attacked the Heartless.  
  
The noise woke up Cloud and Squall. They stepped out of their houses to see that Riku was once again fighting the Heartless! The two glanced at Riku before rushing back inside and getting dressed. They came out and made their way over to Riku to help him fight off this new wave of Heartless.  
  
While Riku and his friends were distracted, a shadowy figured headed to where Riku lived with his friends, Sora and Kairi. As the figure tried to take Kairi while she was sleeping, Kairi awoke and screamed awakening Sora who jumped in front of her to protect her. As he did that, there was a flash of light, and another Keyblade, this one with a star keychain attached to it, appeared in Sora's hands. Sora blinked at his new weapon for just a moment before starting to attack the shadowy figure. Try as he might, Sora couldn't damage the shadowy figure and was thrown back long enough for the the shadowy figure to take Kairi and head out the door. Sora followed them and was blocked by Heartless. He fought bravely against them and kept on chasing the figure eventually losing him. But what surprised him was what he saw ahead of him. Riku, Cloud, and Squall were once again fighting the Heartless! Sora ran to help them and deftly took out some of the Heartless with his new Keyblade which surprised the other three.  
  
After the Heartless were destroyed, Riku turned to his friend. "Sora, how did you manage to get that Keyblade?" asked Riku.  
  
"I don't know how it happened," said Sora, "but I got it when I fighting this shadowy figure that took Kairi. Riku, we've got to find her!"  
  
Riku slaps his forehead. "That's why the Heartless attacked me! They were being used as a distraction to keep me from heading back to you guys!"  
  
"Yea," said Squall. "Only now we've got two problems to worry about: Who has released the Heartless, and why they've done that."  
  
"Not to mention where they've taken Kairi," said Riku.  
  
"Does this mean I'm coming too, Riku?" asked Sora.  
  
Riku grinned. "It sure does, Sora. Whoever sent that Keyblade to you must've known we were going to need some more help this time around."  
  
Cloud nods. "Two Keyblades will be a much greater help this time around than just one."  
  
"Yea," said Riku. "But I wonder... Who released the Heartless?"  
  
"Oh, you should know, Keyblade Master," said a voice. 


	3. Chapter 3: The New King of Shadows:Shade

Chapter 3: The New King of the Shadows - Shade  
  
Riku and the others looked and saw the shadowy figure Sora had spoke about. Kairi was limp under his right arm, and a dark Keyblade was in his left hand. Riku glared at the figure.  
  
"Who are you?" demanded Riku.  
  
The figure smirked under his hood before tossing it back. All of them were shocked at who he was, or rather, who he looked like. Sora stepped back.  
  
"No... No way!" Sora exclaimed. "He looks just like Riku!"  
  
"Not just like me, Sora," said Riku. "His heart already belongs to the darkness, and his hair is black."  
  
"Quite observant, aren't you, Keyblade Master?" said the shadowy figure. "My name is Shade, and I am going to take revenge on you for killing my parents!"  
  
Riku looks surprised. "Your parents? I never saw your parents, so what makes you think that I killed them?" asked Riku.  
  
"So, you don't remember Maleficent and Ansem then? THEY were my PARENTS!" exclaimed Shade. "And since you killed them, it's been my responsiblity to control the Heartless and take my revenge on you! And I think I'll use your friend's heart to help me gain control over them!"  
  
"You leave Kairi out of this!" snarled Riku. "This is between you and me!"  
  
"Heh!" laughed Shade. "That would be too easy, and besides, the Heartless have already started infecting worlds once again. So, what will you do? Will you go after me to save your friend, or will you try to stop the Heartless first before you rescue her?"  
  
"Damn you!" exclaimed Riku. "I'll defeat you somehow and free Kairi from you! I swear that!"  
  
Shade laughs and disappears in a puff of black smoke. Riku was definately pissed now. "Damn, that bastard! He won't get away with this!" said Riku as he pounded his fist into the sand.  
  
Sora looked at his friend. "Riku, we're going to get her back. And we've got the power to stop the Heartless too! Shade won't know what hit him!" said Sora.  
  
Riku looked up at Sora and smiled just a bit. "Thanks, Sora," said Riku as he got up. "Trouble is, we don't know where to start looking for where the Heartless have started infecting worlds at."  
  
Squall looked at the two. "I have an idea on where to start."  
  
Sora and Riku looked at him. "Where?" asked Riku and Sora together.  
  
"Right here," said Squall. "Before we start going after him, we'd best make sure our friends are safe from the Heartless."  
  
"Right! We'll have to split up if we want to cover more ground, tho," said Riku.  
  
They all nodded at that idea. Squall and Riku headed towards the southern part of Besaid Island, while Sora and Cloud headed to the northern end of the island. 


	4. Chapter 4: Darkside and Shadow Sora

Chapter 4: Darkside and Shadow Sora  
  
Riku and Squall began their exploration near their friend Tidus' house. Fortunately, Tidus had also seen the storm coming and was already outside fighting the Heartless alongside Wakku and Lulu. Seeing Riku and Squall heading their way, the Heartless turned to attack them. Wakku, Tidus, and Lulu took the opening and attacked the Heartless from behind. The Heartless in that region were soon defeated.  
  
After the Heartless were defeated, Tidus came over to Riku. "What's going on, Riku? Didn't you defeat the Heartless already?" asked Tidus.  
  
Riku sighed. "Someone released them to get revenge on me killing Malicefent and Ansem, and they took Kairi to use as the heart to get the Heartless under their control! Have you seen where the Heartless have been coming from here? Once we get this place safe again, we can head on to find Kairi and stop the person who released the Heartless from giving Kairi's heart to the Heartless!"  
  
"Well," said Tidus. "There was a lot of dark swirling clouds over the outcropping of land that's over the pier, if that's what you're asking about."  
  
Riku looked at Squall. This could be the chance they were looking for to find the guy before he escaped with Kairi. Riku looked at Tidus.  
  
"Thanks, Tidus!" Riku said as he and Squall ran to where Tidus had told them he had seen the swirling black clouds at.  
  
When they got to the dock, they could see a large shadowy creature there. Riku knew exactly who this was. "It's Darkside!" exclaimed Riku. "Looks like Shade brought him back to slow me down from finding Kairi! Well, it backfired!" Squall nodded, and the two began fighting Darkside.  
  
Back on the other side of the island close to where Cloud's friends were, Cloud and Sora were attacking the Heartless. After their battle, Aeris gave them some news.  
  
"I just saw someone who looked like Sora running to the outcropping on the other side of the island," said Aeris. Sora was surprised. "But how could I be there when I'm with Cloud?" asked Sora.  
  
"There's only one way that could be possible," said Cloud. "It's the Shadow Sora Riku fought to regain his Keyblade," said Cloud.  
  
"A shadow me? Oh, boy... We'd better stop him before he gets to Riku and Squall!"  
  
Cloud nodded, and they raced off towards the outcropping. Ahead of them, they could see the Shadowy Sora running, and Cloud used the Stop spell to freeze it in its tracks until they got close enough to it. When the Shadow Sora unfroze, it now had to face both Cloud and Sora before it could continue on to where Riku and Squall were at.  
  
Both of the battles went on at the same time, and when they were both completed, a shining Keyhole appeared at the center of the island. Riku had seen this before and pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole, but nothing happened. Riku blinked and looked at Squall.   
  
"What's going on, I wonder?" asked Riku.  
  
"I don't know, Riku," said Squall, "but here comes Cloud and Sora."  
  
Cloud and Sora, also noticing the Keyhole, had rushed to where Riku and Squall were at. Cloud looked at the Keyhole and then to Riku.  
  
"Riku, aren't you going to lock the Keyhole?" asked Cloud.  
  
"I tried," said Riku, "but it didn't lock. Sora, why don't you try locking it?"  
  
"Okay," said Sora. "Here goes nothing!"  
  
He pointed his Keyblade at the Keyhole, but like Riku's, nothing happened, and the Keyhole didn't lock. The party was very confused at this.  
  
"What's going on, I wonder?" asked Sora.  
  
"I don't know, Sora," said Riku, "but until we find out, Besaid Island will be open for the Heartless to come and attack our friends." 


	5. Chapter 5: The Secret of the Keyblades

Chapter 5: The Secret of the Keyblades  
  
The party was still pondering this problem when Aeris, seeing the Keyhole, came up to see why it hadn't been locked yet.  
  
"How come the Keyhole hasn't been locked, guys?" asked Aeris.  
  
"I tried to lock it, and then Sora tried to lock it, but it didn't lock," said Riku.  
  
"I heard something about when two Keyblades have appeared before," said Aeris. "When there are two Keyblades, they must be used at the same time to lock the Keyholes. Try it and see."  
  
Riku looked at his friend.   
  
"Ready, Sora?" asked Riku.  
  
"You know it, Riku!" said Sora.  
  
They both pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole. To everyone's surprise, both Keyblades shot a beam of light at the Keyhole, and the sound of a lock locking came to their ears. Riku and Sora looked at each other and then to Aeris.  
  
"It worked!" said Riku.  
  
Aeris nods. "Because Shade revived the Dark Keyblade and managed to reopen up the Keyhole, it's going to take the power of two Keyblades to lock the Keyhole up once again. That was why Sora got his Keyblade," said Aeris.  
  
"Well," said Riku. "I guess it's time to pay Cid another visit. We're going to need his Gummi Ship to get to the other worlds so we can seal them up."  
  
The party nodded and headed to Cid's place which was on the outskirts of town. After explaining to Cid what was going on, they boarded the Gummi Ship and headed off to find out which worlds were becoming infested with Heartless and seal them back up. 


	6. Chapter 6: Trouble in Agrabah

Chapter 6: Trouble in Agrabah  
  
The party headed to one of the stars that looked like it had some sort of Arabian palace on one end of it and a massive stone tiger head on the other end of it. This was Agrabah, and it was one of the places that had problems thanks to Shade's opening of the Keyholes. What was worse was that Shade wanted to open up the Keyhole in Hollow Bastion to bring out the deadliest of all the Heartless. To do so, he asked the villians of each of the worlds to capture the remaining "princesses of heart" for he would need their hearts to open the way to the portal. One such princess was Princess Jasmine of Agrabah. Jafar, the evil vizier, told Shade he'd get Jasmine, but he'd have to have some help because of Aladdin who often caused trouble for him when he was trying to capture the princess. Shade agreed and sent some Heartless to keep Aladdin busy, but he hadn't planned on who would be coming to that world at that very moment..  
  
Cid set the Gummi Ship down just outside of Agrabah, and the party got out. Sora looked around. "Things are sure quiet around here, Riku... I wonder what's going on?"  
  
"Who knows?" said Riku. "But I bet it had something to do with Shade and the Heartless once again. Let's see what we can find out here."  
  
The others nodded, and they all headed into the city where they were immediately attacked by some Heartless. The party fought them off and continued exploring until they reached Aladdin's house where they found the frantic Magic Carpet trying to get freed from under some funiture. Riku and Sora freed the Flying Carpet, and all of the party watched as it flew out of the room and headed for the desert. Thinking that it might lead them to the Keyhole, the party followed it.  
  
Heading out of Agrabah, Riku and the others noticed that the Carpet had waited on them. Hopping aboard, they flew to the desert area where they spotted a young man fighting off some Heartless. Sora looked at Riku.  
  
"It looks like that guy's in trouble!" said Sora.  
  
"I know," said Riku. "We need to help him out."  
  
With that, the party started taking out the Heartless. Just as they thought they'd defeated all of the Heartless, a sand whirlpool entrapped them while a group of Heartless advanced on them. But, when all hope seemed lost, the young man, Aladdin, came to their aid and defeated the Heartless. He looked at them.  
  
"How come you guys came all the way out here?" asked Aladdin.  
  
"Well," said Riku, "This Carpet brought us out here, and we saw you were in trouble, so we decided to help out. What's going on in this place anyway with all these Heartless?"  
  
"Jafar has teamed up with someone named 'Shade' to find the seven 'Princesses of Heart', and he's planning to give Jasmine to him in exchange for his help to defeat me and the two Keyblade masters."  
  
"Well," said Sora. "That would be myself and Riku here he was talking about. I'm Sora, and these are our friends Cloud and Leon. Any idea where you saw Shade last?"  
  
"Last I saw of him, he was in Agrabah. That's where Jasmine's at as well! We've gotta get back there and save her!"  
  
The heroes nodded and took the Magic Carpet back to Agrabah where they fought off some Pot Spiders, Bandits, and Large Bandits before Jasmine finally decided to show herself. But the reunion was only brief, as Jafar captured Jasmine and put her within a Pot Spider which joined with several other Pot Spiders to form a large boss, the Pot Centipede. The combined powers of both the heroes and Aladdin quickly defeated the Pot Centipede, but Jafar had made off with Jasmine and was heading back towards the Cave of Wonders. After checking their items and equipping what they thought they'd need, the party and Aladdin hopped on the Magic Carpet and chased after them.  
  
When the heroes made it to the Cave of Wonders, they discovered that the Guardian of the Cave of Wonders, the large tiger head whose open mouth created the opening to the Cave of Wonders, had been taken over by the Heartless. Before the heroes could even get inside to try to find and rescue Jasmine, they first had to defeat the Cave of Wonders Guardian so that they could get inside. Riku, spying that the neck of the beast was left unguarded, ran up it and headed towards the nose where he could perch and start using combos to attack one of the eyes. Sora quickly followed his friend and went after the other of the eyes while their friends and Aladdin took out the minor Heartless that tried to knock them off, but they had to watch out for the sandblast that the Guardian shot out, as it could harm them greatly. Eventually, the Guardian was defeated and subdued, so now the heroes could head inside and find Jasmine before Jafar could deliver her to Shade for his evil plans. What they hadn't been told was how labrynth-like the inside of the Cave of Wonders was, but thankfully, their new friend Aladdin had been inside the Cave of Wonders before, so he led them through the twists and turns as well as the secret areas til they eventually reached the Treasure Room where Jafar had managed to also have another of Aladdin's friends, the Genie of the Lamp! However, despite Jafar having the Lamp, the Genie didn't harm Aladdin or the heroes that much.   
  
Eventually when Jafar was defeated, he used his wish to be turned into an almighty Genie himself! The heroes and Aladdin did their best to take down Jafar, but nothing seemed to be working... or so they thought. Sora had managed to spot Jafar's partner in crime, his parrot Iago carrying his lamp in his talons. Sora decided to see what would happen and hit the lamp with some Blizzard magic. Jafar winced and then turned his attention towards Sora. It was obvious that Sora had found his weak spot, and he was going to pay for it. Quickly, Cloud casts some Shield magic on Sora nulifying the attack that would've harmed him. Now, the heroes knew what to attack and immediately went after the lamp, eventually destroying it and Jafar, but Jasmine had already been taken.  
  
Riku looked at Aladdin. "We'll get Jasmine back from Shade. I promise you this," said Riku.  
  
"Thanks," said Aladdin. "And I know someone else that can help," said Aladdin.   
  
With his last wish, he freed Genie and asked him to help out Riku and the others. Since Riku already had one summon of his own, Ixion, he asked Genie to help out his friend Sora, and Genie gladly accepted. Aladdin also gave Sora the Three Wishes Keychain so that his Keyblade would have more power. Saying good-bye to Aladdin, Riku and the others headed back to the Gummi Ship now more determined than ever to defeat Shade and free all of the worlds from the Heartless' return. 


	7. Chapter 7: Halloween Town Craziness

Chapter 7: Halloween Town Craziness  
  
When the team disembarked in Halloween Town, they saw that they were dressed in spooky costumes, even Cloud. Riku took the oppertunity to spook Sora at least once.  
  
"Blah! Blah! I vant to suck your blood!" said Riku.  
  
"Ahh!" said Sora as he jumped back.  
  
Cloud and Leon couldn't help but chuckle a bit. Of course, even they were surprised about how they ended up, particularly Cloud who now had purple clawed hands and feet, a long black and purple tail with silver metallic bands around the base of it, large pointed ears, and two horns. He also sprouted another black demonic wing.  
  
"I look like Vincent's Chaos and Galian Beast forms combined..." groaned Cloud.  
  
"Well, at least it'll go away once we leave this world," said Leon.  
  
Leon looked like a bipedal, Purple Lion with Red Scars on it, and a White Mane. He also had red fins sticking out of his head and two red demonlike wings sticking out of his back along with a purple tail with a white tuff of fur at the end of it. His hands were a lot like Cloud's were, as were his feet, but they were furry with small white claws. Riku blinked.  
  
"Leon, just WHAT are you supposed to be?" asked Riku.  
  
"Oh, this?" asked Leon. "It's my personal Guardian Force, Griever. He's a Lion Demon."  
  
"Whoa..." said Sora.  
  
They headed on past Guillotine Square and saw...  
  
"Heartless!" said Riku.  
  
They all got their weapons out, but for some strange reason, none of the Search Ghosts attacked them. Sora blinked.  
  
"You think that because we're in costume that they don't reconize us?" asked Sora.  
  
"They'd reconize us," said Leon. "But, I don't understand why they're just standing around there..."  
  
"Maybe they're being controlled somehow..." said Riku.  
  
Just then, a short, trianglar-looking person with a very long hat appeared, the Mayor of Halloween Town. His face whirled around to show another face as he spoke into a large megaphone.  
  
"And now, let me introduce you to the master of terror, the king of nightmare, the spookiest guy of them all- Jack Skellington!"  
  
A tall, VERY TALL, and very thin figure dressed in a pinstriped tuxedo with a pointy back appeared from the well situated in between the Search Ghosts appeared. He had a skeletal-looking face and boney looking hands as well. The Mayor approached him.  
  
"Bravo, Jack! Those Ghosts will be a hit at this year's Halloween celebration!" said the Mayor.  
  
"Thanks," said Jack, "but their movements don't seem that spine-tingling if you ask me. I'm going to go see the Doctor."  
  
With that Jack left. Riku and the others decided what this "Doctor" had planned for the Heartless there. Maybe they had found out a way to control the Heartless without the use of a heart from a person, as Shade wanted to do. They followed Jack to the lab entrance and listened in as Jack talked to another man who was in a wheelchair.  
  
"I don't understand," said Jack. "What could've gone wrong?"  
  
"That's NONSENSE!" said the wheelchair fellow. "My devices are always perfect!"  
  
Jack thought a bit before snapping his fingers.  
  
"I've got it! The Heartless need a HEART! Doc, can you add a heart to your device?"  
  
"I don't see why not," said the Doctor. "A heart's not that complicated to make anyway..."  
  
Riku and the others blinked. Jack and the others were trying to create a heart to contol the Heartless! Maybe this plan of Jack's would work out after all. But then, it hit a snag as Jack and the Doctor found out that the "heart" had a Keyhole in it, so it wouldn't open.  
  
It was just then that Riku and the others arrived. Sora looked at Riku.  
  
"Riku, you're not SERIOUSLY going to unlock it for them, are you?" asked Sora.  
  
"Sure I am. If they can make the heart, we won't have to fight the Heartless! Then we can go after Shade and save Kairi! Besides, I want to see the Heartless dance, don't you?" asked Riku.  
  
"Not really..." said Leon who made a face.  
  
Riku pointed his Keyblade at the heart to unlock the heart, but nothing happened. Even so, Jack was quite surprised.  
  
"My!" said Jack. "That was quite amazing. What's your name?"  
  
"I'm Riku," said Riku. "These are my friends, Sora, Leon, and Cloud."  
  
"Well done, Riku! Would you and your friends like to be part of this year's Halloween celabration?"  
  
Riku shook his head.  
  
"Sorry, but can you tell us why this Heartless is here?"  
  
"The Heartless?" said Jack. "Well, they came to town just recently. If I could get them under my control, I could have them dance with me at this year's Halloween celebration. But so far, all of our experiments to try to controll them have failed... We're hoping that by making a heart, we'll be able to control them..."  
  
The Doctor tried adding stuff to make a heart but failed. Then he realized that he was missing something that his assistant, Sally had: a memory. Jack asked Riku and the others if they'd accompany him while he went to look for Sally, and they said yes. Then they left the lab.  
  
When they got outside, they found that the Heartless were out of control from the Mayor. Now, they'd have to fight their way to find out where Sally was at. The first place they headed to was the Graveyard where they were introduced to two new types of Heartless: Wight Knights and Gargoyles. After defeating them, Jack's ghost dog, Zero, appeared and led them to where Sally was. After explaining to Sally they needed her "memory", Sally handed over the Forget-Me-Not, which they took back to the Doctor.  
  
What the team didn't know was that Lock, Shock, and Barrel, three trouble-making kids, had overheard what the Doctor was trying to make and went to talk to Oogie Boogie, the villian of Halloween Town, all about it. Oogie Boogie laughed knowing that if he got the heart, he could control the Heartless.  
  
Not knowing about Oogie's plan, Riku and the others took the Forget-Me-Not back to the Doctor to see if the heart would work now. The Doctor told them that there was one more ingredient to make the heart work: the "surprise". He told them to find the Mayor who might know where the "surprise" was at.  
  
Once again, Riku and the others headed to the Graveyard and eventually found the Mayor. He told them about a puzzle they had to solve to find the "surprise".  
  
"Ghosts rise from those tombstones. Check the tombstones in the order the ghosts appear. If you get it right, you're in for a surprise!" said the Mayor.  
  
Riku and Sora decided to do this as a team effort. Sora watched the order the ghosts appeared in, and when the ghosts stop coming, Sora told Riku which ones to examine and in which order. After finding the last ghost, the group heard an explosion in behind them. The Mayor switched to his smiling face.  
  
"Bravo! Check the pumpkin for your surprise!" said the Mayor.  
  
The group did so and found a Jack-in-the-Box which they took back to the Doctor. The Doctor assembled the heart, but before they could test it out, Lock, Shock, and Barrel stole it and ran off. The team took off after them but lost them when they had to start fighting the Heartless again. When they got to the Cemetary, Jack called on Zero to follow the threesome so that they could catch up with them. They eventually saw them in their walking tub heading over a curled-up mountain and heading towards a spooky looking manor which Jack reconized as Oogie Boogie's Manor. Fighting their way to the Evil Playroom, Riku and the others confronted Lock, Shock, and Barrel. After defeating them in battle, the three troublemakers told the group that Oogie had made them steal the heart and that he was in his Torture Chamber room.  
  
Once again, the team had to fight their way down to the Torture Chamber room. Once inside, Jack demanded that Oogie to give back the heart, but Oogie laughed and swallowed the heart. Then he called for the Heartless, but the heroes laughed as only two of the Heartless appeared which really pissed off Oogie. Then the team had to fight Oogie on a giant rotating roulette wheel while dodging the various traps and torturous devices. They found that they could trap Oogie in a section by stepping on jewel making the spikes come up as well as the part they were standing on. Then they could bash Oogie until he knocked them back onto the wheel. This continued for a little bit longer until Oogie litterally had the stuffing knocked out of him. The team soon realized that the heard had a defect and headed out of Oogie's Manor, but Oogie wasn't done yet...  
  
When the heroes got outside, Oogie's Manor grew into a HUGE fighting entity. Riku was shocked.  
  
"How did he get so BIG?!" said Riku.  
  
Jack pointed to the dark globs on the Mansion.  
  
"That's how! He's brimming with darkness and drawing on those dark globs for power!" said Jack.  
  
"So, if we destroy those globs, we'll be able to defeat him?" asked Sora.  
  
"Most likely," said Riku. "Let's go!"  
  
Just like back on Besaid Island, the heroes split up to cover more ground and attack from multiple areas at once. Also, it was situated where if either Riku or Sora fell there would be someone there to catch them since several of the globs were on very thin ledges. After all of the globs were destroyed, Oogie's Manor collasped, and the team found a Keyhole. Sora and Riku knew exactly what to do next. They pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole, and two beams of light shot out from the two Keyblades before the sound of a lock locking was heard. Now it was safe to say that Halloween Town wouldn't be having any more Heartless invading it. Jack then gave Sora a Pumpkinhead keychain and told them to come visit them for the next Halloween celabration. Waving good-bye to Jack, Sally, Zero, the Doctor, and the Mayor, the heroes headed to the Gummi Ship and onto the next world that needed locking. 


	8. Chapter 8: Trouble Under the Sea

Chapter 8: Trouble Under the Sea  
  
The next place that the team headed to was Alantica. In there, the team gained the ablity to swim using new forms. Both Riku and Sora had turned into mermen, while Leon became a sea lion and Cloud became a Levithan. Riku had become a part tiger shark merman, and Sora had become a part dolphin merman. They soon meet up with Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder. They teach them to swim, and then underwater Heartless appear. Ariel swims off while Sebastian and Flounder hide in a nearby Clamshell. The team fights the Heartless and then frees Flounder and Sebastian from the Clamshell by having Riku whack it with his Keyblade. Ariel looked at Riku and the others.  
  
"Those creatures chased us here," said Ariel.  
  
Sebastian suddenly thought of something.  
  
"Oh, no! Those monsters might be heading for the palace, too!" said Sebastian.  
  
"We'd better head back right away!"  
  
Flounder looked worried, tho.  
  
"But, wh-what if we run into more on our way back?" stammered Flounder.  
  
Ariel looked at Riku's group.  
  
"I'm sorry, but we need your help. Please come to the palace with us. The trident markers on the walls point the way   
  
there. We won't get lost as long as we follow them. Okay, let's get going," said Ariel.  
  
"Right," said Riku.  
  
With that, the team followed the trident markers and fought Heartless along the way until they got to Triton's Throne. There, they got chased by some more Heartless until the the Heartless got zapped with a lightning bolt. The team looked to see where the lightning bolt had come from and saw a large merman with white hair and beard sitting on the throne and holding a trident. They had come face-to-face with King Triton, ruler of Alantica and Ariel's father, tho they didn't know it at the time. Triton looks at his trident.  
  
"That was too close. As long as I have my trident, I will not tolerate those creatures inside this palace," said Triton.  
  
Ariel swam over.  
  
"Daddy!" said Ariel.  
  
Triton looks surprised.  
  
"Oh, Ariel! When will you listen? It's dangerous out there!"  
  
Ariel was about to respond, but Triton interrupted her.  
  
"Strange creatures lurk outside."  
  
It was then that Sebastian cleared his throat and looked to Riku's group.  
  
"Behold. You swim before the ruler of the seas: His Majesty, King Triton," said Sebastian.  
  
Triton looked at Riku's group.  
  
"Who are they?" asks Triton. "They don't look familiar."  
  
"They helped us fight off those creatures," said Ariel.  
  
Riku nodded.  
  
"We came from an ocean far away," said Riku.  
  
Sora nodded.  
  
"We came to find the Keyhole," said Sora.  
  
Triton looks surprised.  
  
"The what?" asks Triton.  
  
Riku slapped his forehead. Apparently, Sora had made a blunder, and now, they wouldn't be able to find the Keyhole without some suspecion. However, it was soon discovered that the King knew something about it and wasn't going to tell them anything. Furthermore, he forbidded Ariel from leaving the palace. Ariel frowned, and the team left the throne room.  
  
After the team left, Triton and Sebastian started to discuss about the Keyhole which Triton quickly ended and asked about where the creatures were coming from. Sebastian told the King that the creatures were coming from his nemesis', the sea witch Ursula's, grotto. This meant that the sea witch was up to no good, and this time, she had help.  
  
After the team got outside, Ariel took them to her grotto to show them all of what she'd collected from the above world and suggested to go looking for the Keyhole despite what her father had said. The team didn't know it at the time, but Sebastian had overheard the conversation, but he wasn't the only one. Ursula had heard it as well thanks to her two flunkies, a pair of twin eels named Jetsam and Flotsam. Ursula laughed.  
  
"Those impudent fools will never find the Keyhole, but the girl could prove useful, and I've got the Heartless on my side. Triton, my old friend... Your day is coming," laughs Ursula.  
  
Meanwhile, the team has found a dolphin that will take them to a new area... once they defeat all of the Heartless. Once they do so, they ride the dolphin to the wrecked ship and find the Crystal Trident. Sora looks a bit curious.  
  
"Hey, doesn't this look a bit familiar?" asks Sora.  
  
Riku nodded, and they head back to Ariel's grotto where they put the Crystal Trident in the slot, but before they could do anything, Triton destroys the Crystal Trident. Ariel is shocked and swims away. Triton then gets mad at Riku and the others before telling them that the Key Bearers will shatter peace and cause ruin. He tells them to leave.  
  
Ariel, meanwhile, is confronted by Flotsam and Jetsam. Ariel talks to Ursula who tells her that her new friends did in fact come from another world thanks to their Keyblades. She then tells Ariel what to do. While the team headed back to the throne room, Ursula asks Ariel to take her there as well. Ariel does so, and Urusla steals the trident and laughs. Ariel realizes she's done a bad thing. Meanwhile, the twin eels report that they cannot find the Keyhole. Riku's group appears, and Ursula disappears. Ariel discovers that her father has been injured by Ursula as well.  
  
"Daddy!" said a shocked Ariel.  
  
"The trident... We must get it back," said a badly injured Triton.  
  
Riku nods.  
  
"Come on, guys! Let's get that Trident back!" said Riku.  
  
The others nodded. Ariel, knowing that he father got injured because of something she wanted, asks to go along with them which they agree. Sebastian comes along with them as well. Triton gives them some advice before they leave as well as to how to defeat Ursula.  
  
"Ursula draws power from her cauldron. To defeat Ursula, you must strike her cauldron with magic," said Triton.  
  
The team nods and heads for the Sunken Ship where they first defeat a Shark before Sebastian would help them find the way to Ursula's lair. Riku notices something from behind a boulder, but he can't reach it. Sebastian looks at Riku.  
  
"Need some help? I'll show you how it's done," said Sebastian.  
  
He pushes the switch that was out of Riku's reach, and the team heads towards the Den of Tides, Ursula's hiding spot. After defeating more Heartless and healing up, the team soon appears in Ursula's Grotto where the sea witch is about to come out of her hiding spot. Riku looks around.  
  
"Come out! You can't run!" said Riku.  
  
"Your time has come!" said Sebastian.  
  
The sea witch comes out with a mean scowl on her face scaring Sebastian. After that, the team fought Ursula, Jetsam, and Flotsam. Remembering what Trident had told him, Riku started to attack the cauldron with magic. Ursula tried to attack Riku, but Cloud protected him using spells like Shield, Barrier, and Wall. When the cauldron exploded, Ursula was stunned, and the team would attack her until she regained her senses. When Riku and Cloud ran out of Magic Power, Sora and Squall took over until Riku and Cloud gained their Magic Power back. This was easily done by attacking Ursula's twin flunkies. Soon, the sea witch was defeated for now. Her two flunkies disappeared. Ursula glared at the team.  
  
"You'll pay for this!" said Ursula as she disappeared with the Trident.   
  
Ariel looked at the others.  
  
"The Trident!" said Ariel. "We must get it back!"  
  
The team nodded. Now that they had the Mermaid Kick ablity, they could swim through the strong currents that they originally would have to use a dolphin to get through to a mysterious area. There they encounted a HUGE Ursula head with a crown on it. Ursula looked at the now-puny heroes.  
  
"You pathetic fools! I rule the sea now!" said the Giant Ursula. "The sea and all its spoils bow to my power!"  
  
Riku chuckled.  
  
"Now her head really DOES match her ego!" said Riku.  
  
Ursula didn't think that was too funny, and the battle began. Soon, Ursula was defeated and disappeared in a whirlpool as Riku caught the Trident. They then headed back to Triton's Throne where Ariel presented the Trident back to her father. She sighed sadly.  
  
"Daddy, I'm so sorry," said a sad Ariel.  
  
"Don't blame her, okay?" said Riku.  
  
"It's my fault. You followed Ursula because...I wouldn't let you follow your heart, and when you found that crystal, I lost my temper and destroyed it," said Triton.  
  
"Why did you destroy the crystal?" asks Cloud.  
  
"That Crystal had the power to reveal the Keyhole," said Triton. "The Keyhole is dangerous. I had to keep it hidden from you at all costs."  
  
"Daddy..." said Ariel.  
  
Triton looked at Riku and Sora.  
  
"Key bearers, I have one more request: Seal the Keyhole. My Rrident also holds the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?" asks Triton.  
  
Riku nodded.  
  
"Of course," said Riku. "That's what we were going to do once we got here."  
  
"But, where is the Keyhole?" asks Sora.  
  
"It is in Ariel's Grotto," said Triton.  
  
Ariel takes the Trident as the team's Thundera is upgraded to Thundraga. The team heads back to Ariel's Grotto, and Ariel uses the Trident on the trident mark to reveal a Keyhole. Riku and Sora then pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole and locked the world. After that, Ariel asked about their worlds, and the team tells them about their worlds. Ariel told them that someday she'd come and visit them and gave Sora a Crabclaw Keychain from her collection. Saying good-bye to Ariel, Sebastian, and Flounder, the team exited the world and headed for the next world that was taken over by the Heartless. 


	9. Chapter 9: Fly, Dear Riku! Let Your Drea...

Chapter 9: Fly, Dear Riku! Let Your Dreams Take You To Neverland!  
  
The team decided to get back on the Gummi Ship and look around some more. As they were heading to another world, they were ambushed by a large pirate Ship, the Jolly Roger. The team was captured, and Sora and Riku are separated from Cloud and Squall. As they look around for their friends, they hear a familiar voice.  
  
"I didn't think you'd come," said the voice.  
  
The two gasp and turn around. Shade smiles at them.  
  
"Good to see you again," said Shade.  
  
"Where's our friends?" demanded Sora.  
  
"Are they that important to you?" asks Shade. "Instead of worrying about them, you should be asking...about your other friend."  
  
He steps aside to reveal Kairi who isn't in good shape. Riku gasps.  
  
"Kairi!" exclaimed Riku.  
  
Riku and Sora try to get to Kairi, but Captain Hook blocks them.  
  
"Not so fast," said Captain Hook. "No shenanigans aboard my vessel, boys."  
  
The duo is surrounded by Captain Hook, Mr. Smee, and the Heartless. Riku glares at Shade.  
  
"You won't get away with this!" said Riku.  
  
"Of course I will," said Shade. "The Heartless obey me just like they obeyed my father, Ansem."  
  
"You're wrong," said Sora.  
  
"Oh, really?" asks Shade. "Well, I've picked up a few new tricks. Like this, for instance."  
  
Two Shadows that look like Sora and Riku appear in front of the duo causing the two of them to jump back. Shade grins.  
  
"You two can go see your friends now," said Shade.  
  
An invisible trap door opens, and the two are dropped into the hold. Shade looks back at Captain Hook.  
  
"Let's get under way, already, and keep those two away from the girl until we're ready to land," said Shade.  
  
Shade then left. Captain Hook grumbles about being ordered around by a boy and says that the Heartless down below can keep the team busy, but then Smee says something about that a "you-know-who" was also down below. Hook also starts thinking that he's hearing something and gets nervous.  
  
A bit later, Sora and Riku tell Cloud and Squall about what happened. Cloud looks at the two of them.  
  
"Are you sure it was Kairi?" asks Cloud.  
  
"I'm posistive," said Riku.  
  
"Well, let's go get her," said Leon.  
  
"And get ourselves off of this pirate ship," said Sora.  
  
While they were looking for a way off out of their predictament, they meet up with Peter Pan who is looking for his friend Wendy as well as his pixie friend, Tinker Bell. Tinker Bell had apparently found not only Wendy but Kairi too! Peter introduced himself and said that he would stay with the group until they found Wendy, and they all agreed and headed out of the room they were in only to be ambushed by some Pirate Heartless. The team fought them and continued onward. Peter also has Tinker Bell sprinkle fairy dust on the team allowing them to fly.  
  
Meanwhile, Captain Hook discovers to his dismay that Wendy wasn't one of the "Chosen Ones" that Shade was looking for to open up the portal to the Heartless. They then discover that Riku and the others have escaped from the hold with the help of Peter Pan. Hook tells Smee to bring the hostage to his room.  
  
Meanwhile, Tinker Bell has apparently found Wendy above Riku's group. Wendy was awake and told Peter that the pirates were coming, and Peter told Wendy to hold on. Riku asked if there was another girl in there with Wendy, and she said yes but that she wasn't moving, but when Riku called to her, her fingers moved slightly before she was dragged away. Wendy started to get worried. The team gets up to the room but doesn't find Kairi or Wendy. In the captain's room, Riku and Sora once again find Shade who has Kairi, but before they could even approach, the Shadows of Sora and Riku appeared allowing shade to escape once again. Then the team fought and defeated the two Shadows. They open the hatch to where Wendy was at and find Wendy's unconscious. Peter leaves the group to get wendy to safety. The team heads outside to find Captain Hook.  
  
"Quite a codfish, that Shade - running off with that girl without even saying goodbye," Captain Hook said to Riku's group.  
  
Riku glared at Captain Hook.  
  
"Tell me where Shade took Kairi!" demanded a very ticked-off Riku.  
  
"To the ruins of Hollow Bastion, where he resides," said Captain Hook, "but you won't be getting there."  
  
It was then that Captain Hook brought out a lantern containing Tinker Bell. Sora and Riku gasped. They couldn't leave Tinker Bell, and Sora's Keyblade disappeared. He was then surrounded by the Heartless. Hook looked to Riku, the only one with a Keyblade.  
  
"Hand over the Keyblade and I'll spare your lives. Be glad I'm merciful, unlike the Heartless. So, which will it be? The Keyblade, or the plank?" asked Hook.  
  
Just then, everyone heard a ticking sound, and Captain Hook got scared for he knew what that sound meant. The Crocodile that had taken his other hand for which he now had a hook for had come back apparently for his other hand and the rest of him for that matter. Riku got ready to jump off of the plank into the the Croc's mouth, but then he heard a friendly voice.  
  
"Fly, Riku! Just believe, and you can do it!" said Peter Pan.  
  
Riku looked at the others.  
  
"See you guys in a bit!" said Riku.  
  
He jumped off of the plank. Sora, Cloud, and Squall were shocked.  
  
"Riku!" said Sora.  
  
He couldn't believe what Riku had done, but Riku wasn't gone. Just before Crocodile could grab Riku, he jumped into the air and started to fly. Sora cheered for his friend, and the other two smirked.  
  
"Next time, Riku," said Squall, "warn us before you do some sort of crazy stunt like that."  
  
Riku chuckled.  
  
"Come on, you guys!" said Riku. "If I can do it, so can you!"  
  
The other three nodded and jumped into the air. Peter dove down, grabbed the lantern that Captain Hook had dropped, and freed Tinker Bell. Riku looked at Peter Pan.  
  
"Thanks, Peter," said Riku.  
  
"Hey, don't mention it," said Peter. "You didn't think I'd leave you and Tink behind, did you?"  
  
The others smiled as well. Smee ran off, and the group's Cura got upgraded to Curaga. The team using their new flying skills, fought Air Pirates and Battleships in the air and Pirates on the ground. Once the Heartless where defeated, Peter Pan knocked on the door Captain Hook ran into and decided to play a trick on the scared Hook. Putting his finger to his lips, Peter motioned for the others to be quiet even though it was hard to do. Just then, they all heard Captain Hook's scared voice.  
  
"Is that you, Smee?" asked a frightened Captain Hook. "Did you finish them off?"  
  
Peter does an exact copy of Mr. Smee's voice.  
  
"Aye, Captain," said Peter. "They walked the plank, every last one of them."  
  
Riku and Sora were having a hard time trying to keep from laughing. Captain Hook timidly comes out of his cabin and looks around. Peter sneaks around and stabs Hook in the rear with his dagger. Captain Hook whirls around and is furious.  
  
"P-Peter Pa-blast you!" said Hook.  
  
"Ready to make a splash, you codfish? Now it's your turn to walk the plank!" said Peter.  
  
The team then fights Captain Hook. They discovered that if they got him close to the edge of the ship and knocked him off, Captain Hook would nearly get bitten in the rear before he jumped back on the ship. They also gave him a hot foot using their Fire magic. Soon, Captain Hook was thrown off of his ship and into the water to be chased by the Crocodile. He frantically started swimming away with the Crocodile right on his tail.  
  
"Smee! Smee! Come help me!" yelled Hook.  
  
The others laughed, and Riku and Sora couldn't believe they flew and couldn't wait to tell Kairi about it... once they found her, that is. The two were also worried for their friend. Could they have been too late and Kairi had lost her heart to the Heartless? Before the two could ponder this, Tinker Bell came to talk to Peter once again.  
  
"What's that, Tink? What about the clock tower? You say there's something there?" asked Peter.  
  
Sometime later, Riku's group flew to the clock tower to fix the clock face that wasn't at 12:00 midnight. When they did so, a Keyhole appeared, and Sora and Riku locked it. They also gained a Navi-G Piece. After that, Sora gained the ablity to summon Tinker Bell and got the Fairy's Harp Keychain, and they learned how to Glide to get to far off places that couldn't be reached with a normal jump. With the Navi-G Piece in hand, the team headed back to Besaid Island to see if Cid knew anything about the piece.  
  
At Besaid Island, Cid installed the finished Navi-G Gummi into place on the Gummi Ship. Riku and Sora were getting worried for their friend, but Cloud and Squall told them that as long as they believed in themselves, they would find Kairi. Then they both heard Kairi's voice, and a bright light eveloped the two. They soon found themeselves in a dream world library where where a young Kairi and her grandmother are at. Sora and Riku look around.  
  
"Where are we?" asked Sora.  
  
"I don't know..." said Riku.  
  
Kairi's grandmother told the young Kairi, as well as Riku and Sora, about the light and the darkness.  
  
"Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves, and darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the   
  
light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared, but small fragments of light survived...in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So, listen, child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away. Do you understand, Kairi?" asks Kairi's grandmother.  
  
The two Key bearers blinked and tried to get the young Kairi's attention, but it didn't work. The light faded, and Squall and Cloud looked at them.  
  
"What's the matter, you two?" asked Cloud.  
  
"It's nothing," said Riku. -Kairi, were you calling us?-  
  
Cid returned and warned them about Hollow Bastion which was overflowing with Heartless once again. The others were startled at this, considering that Riku had sealed the Keyhole once before, but if they were going to stop Shade and save Kairi, they had to go back to Hollow Bastion. Thanking Cid, the team boards the Gummi Ship and heads to Hollow Bastion once again. 


	10. Chapter 10: The Return to Hollow Bastion

Chapter 10: The Return to Hollow Bastion  
  
The team reached the forboding Hollow Bastion, and for Sora, this would be his first time inside of this place. Riku, Cloud, and Squall had been inside Hollow Bastion once before when they had come there to rescue Kairi and stop Malifecent and Ansem from opening up the Keyhole and releasing the toughest of all of the Heartless. However, something that had happened to Riku in the past would happen once again to the two Keyblade holders, and this time, their friends wouldn't be there to help them out... at least until they found them again, that is. Riku stopped for a moment as he had a flashback from his past about when he was the last time around...  
  
When Riku, Leon, and Cloud headed inside, they saw what appeared to be a darkened Sora. Riku looked.   
  
"Sora? Is that you?"   
  
The darkened Sora looked at him before snapping his fingers. The Keyblade vanished from Riku's hands leaving him with only the wooden pratice sword in its place. Riku looks shocked.   
  
"Sora?! What'd you do that for?"   
  
However, it was painfully clear to Riku that this WASN'T the friend he knew from Destiny Islands. If he was going to find Sora and Kairi and be able to save them, Riku knew that he had to find the Keyblade, but he knew it would be tricky, since he knew from his encounters on Destiny Island that the Shadows were invunerable to his wooden blade.  
  
"Hey, Riku," said Sora. "Are you okay?"  
  
Riku blinked and looked at his friend.  
  
"Yea, I'm okay," said Riku. "Let's go find Kairi and stop Shade from releasing the Heartless!"  
  
"Sounds good to us too," said Squall.  
  
With that, the team headed towards Hollow Bastion. On the way there, they heard a roar. Curious and a bit nervous, the team headed on to find out who or what made that sound.  
  
Meanwhile, Shade looked at the Beast.  
  
"No vessel, no help from the Heartless... So tell me, how'd you get here?" asked Shade.  
  
"I simply believed. Nothing more to it. When our world fell into darkness, Belle was taken from me. I vowed I would find her again no matter what the cost. I believed I would find her. So, here I am. She must be here. I will have her back!" said the Beast.  
  
"Take her if you can," taunted Shade.  
  
The Beast tried but got knocked back and hurt. Riku reconized his friend and ran over to him. Sora and the others followed.  
  
"Beast, are you okay?" asked Riku.  
  
The Beast looked at Riku.  
  
"You came back to help us once again," said the Beast.  
  
"That's right," said Riku. "Whenever a friend of ours is in danger, we'll always come to their aid."  
  
Sora nodded, and the two looked at Shade.  
  
"This has gone too far!" said Riku.  
  
"Hmph!" said Shade. "You know they can't be two Keyblade holders let alone three."  
  
"Says who?" asked Sora.  
  
"Just watch your Keyblades," said Shade. "They'll chose their master."  
  
With that, the two Keyblades vanished from Sora and Riku's hands. The two are shocked as are their friends. Shade smirked.  
  
"I remember what happened the last time, so don't think you're going to have help from your friends this time around!" said Shade.  
  
With that, Shade waved his hand, and Squall and Cloud disappeared. Then, before leaving with the twin Keyblades, Shade tossed two Wooden Swords to the two before he walked off. Sora looked at his friend.  
  
"NOW what are we going to do?" asked Sora.  
  
"I don't know," said Riku. "We've gotta find our Keyblades, but we've also got to find our friends. How can we do both without the Heartless attacking us? We both know that they're invunerable to our Wooden Swords..."  
  
"They may be invunerable to those," said the Beast, "but they're not invunerable to my claws. I will come with you to find your friends and the Keyblades."  
  
"Thank you, Beast," said Riku. "Let's go!"  
  
With that, the three headed into Hollow Bastion to find their friends and get their Keyblades back. 


	11. Chapter 11: The Power of the Heart

Chapter 11: The Power of the Heart  
  
While inside of Hollow Bastion, Sora and Riku had to dodge the Heartless while their friend, the Beast, destroyed them with his immense strength. Sora and Riku could help with some attack magic, but the best thing they could do for now is run. Eventually, the trio found the room that Cloud and Squall were in, and the Beast broke down the wall freeing their friends. Squall and Cloud were greatly relieved to see that Riku and Sora were okay, and now the five of them could go and find the Keyblades and Kairi. The team headed back upstairs, and the Beast sniffed around. He looked at the others.  
  
"Be on your guard. They're close, I can feel it. Are you ready for them?" asked the Beast.  
  
The team nodded. The Beast suddenly sensed Belle. The Beast whirled around and spotted who he thought was Belle.  
  
"Belle?" asked the Beast.  
  
Belle transformed into a Shadow Heartless, and this angred the Beast greatly. He chased after it leaving Riku and his team alone... or so they thought.  
  
"Quit while you can," said Shade as he appeared.  
  
Riku and Sora shook their heads.  
  
"No," said Riku.  
  
"Not without Kairi," said Sora.  
  
Shade turned into his more powerful form which was the same as Riku's powerful form only it had a pair of large demonlike wings on the back. He looked at the two.  
  
"The darkness will destroy you," said Shade.  
  
Riku shook his head.  
  
"You're wrong, Shade. The darkness may destroy our bodies, but it can't touch our hearts. Our hearts will stay with our friends. They'll never die!" said Riku.  
  
"That's right!" said Sora.  
  
"Really..." said Shade. "Well, we'll just see about that!"  
  
Riku and Sora are immoblized, and Shade shot a pair of dark orbs from the palms of his hand. Riku and Sora gasped and closed their eyes expecting the worst. However, before the orbs could hit, there was a bright flash of white light, and Squall and cloud had each blocked and orb with their swords. Cloud and Squall looked at Shade.  
  
"They're not going anywhere!" said Cloud.  
  
Sora and Riku looked at their friends.  
  
"Thanks a lot, Cloud," said Riku.  
  
"And thanks, Squall," said Sora.  
  
The team got ready to battle Shade, and Shade laughed at the two boys with the Woode Swords.  
  
"How will you two fight without weapons?" asked Shade.  
  
"We don't need our Keyblades," said Riku.  
  
"It's because we have a much stronger weapon..." said Sora.  
  
"Our hearts!" the two said together.  
  
Shade laughed.  
  
"Your HEARTS? What good will THOSE WEAK THINGS do for you?" Shade said tauntingly.  
  
Riku looked at Shade.  
  
"Our hearts by themselves may be weak, but they've grown much stronger with all the friends we've made and all the experiences we've had. They become part of our hearts, and we become parts of theirs! And so long as our friends think of us now and again, we're never alone!" said Riku.  
  
Both he and Sora get ready with their Wooden Swords. Sora nodded.  
  
"That's right!" said Sora. "We don't need our Keyblades to defeat you! Our FRIENDS are OUR POWER!"  
  
After Sora and Riku said that, the twin Keyblades disappeared from Shade's hands and reappeared in the Key bearers' hands. This shocked Shade, and the battle began. Soon, the team had defeated Shade, and the Beast returned to them. He saw that the Keyblades had once again returned to the two Key bearers.  
  
"It looks like your hearts won this battle," said the Beast.  
  
The two nodded, and the team headed on eventually finding the pieces of the Heartless Emblem and opening up the door that would lead to Kairi... and Shade. What they found shocked Riku for there once again was the Black Dragon that Riku and his friends had fought the last time. Riku looked at the team.  
  
"Looks like Shade's been busy while we were trying to get inside this room," said Riku. "We've defeated this Dragon once! We can do it again!"  
  
The team nodded, and they took on the Dragon. After the Dragon was defeated, Shade appeared once again only this time he was holding a Dark Keyblade. Cloud was shocked.  
  
"Is that-?" started Cloud.  
  
Shade nodded.  
  
"Yes," said Shade. "This is a Keyblade, but unlike your two, this one can unlock people's hearts. I did so with that Dragon."  
  
After that, Shade disappeared. The others were still shocked tho.  
  
"A Keyblade..." started Riku.  
  
"...that can unlock people's hearts..." finished Sora.  
  
They found the Fireglow, and Sora learned to summon Mushu. Riku had also learned a new summon as well. A great lion named "Simba" during his first time as a Key bearer. Then the group proceeds into the Great Hall. Unlike last time, the team hadn't been here, but they had found all of the missing princesses of heart. Sora and Riku headed up the stairs. Cloud and Squall tried to follow, but a forcefield kept them back. Riku and Sora spotted someone.  
  
"Kairi!" exclaimed Riku.  
  
The two ran over to Kairi. Sora tried to wake Kairi up.  
  
"Kairi! Kairi! Open your eyes!" said Sora.  
  
"It's no use," said a voice. "That girl has lost her heart. She can't wake up."  
  
Sora and Riku looked towards the voice and saw Shade.  
  
"What do you mean by that?!" demanded a very irritable Riku.  
  
"The Keyhole cannot be completed so as long as the last princess of heart still sleeps," said Shade.  
  
Riku and Sora looked at each other and then back to Kairi.  
  
"The princess...?" said Riku.   
  
"Kairi's a princess?" said a surprised Sora.  
  
Shade laughs and floats in the air.  
  
"So long as she sleeps, the Keyhole cannot be opened. She must be awakened and add her power to the Keyhole," said Shade.  
  
"We won't let you take her!" said Riku. "Give Kairi back her heart!"  
  
Shade laughed.  
  
"Oh, it is not me that has her heart," said Shade. "You must give the princess back her heart."  
  
Riku feels something strange in his heart and falls to his knees holding his own heart. Sora looked at his friend.  
  
"Riku!" said Sora.  
  
"What's-" said Riku.  
  
Shade laughs.  
  
"Don't you feel it?" said Shade. "The heart of the last princess is responding! You've had it with you this entire time!"  
  
Riku is shocked.  
  
"Kairi's inside of me?" said a surprised Riku.  
  
"I know all there needs to be known," said Shade.  
  
"You're not harming my friends!" said Sora.  
  
"Oh, but I shall," said Shade. "It is time to unlock the princess' heart so that the Keyhole can be complete!"  
  
Shade was about to attack Riku, but Sora blocked the attack with his Keyblade. Kairi called out Riku, and he awoke. Riku stood up beside his friend and glared at Shade.  
  
"Forget it! There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!" said Riku.  
  
The two fight Shade and defeated him for now. He disappeared leaving his Dark Keyblade behind. Cloud and Squall come up to the two, and the team stared at the Keyhole. The two tried to seal the Keyhole up with their Keyblades, but it didn't work. Squall suggested that maybe the should try to wake Kairi up. Riku nodded.  
  
"I think you're right. If we can free her heart... But... But how?" asked Riku.  
  
Then he noticed the Dark Keyblade. Sora knew what he was thinking.  
  
"A Keyblade that can unlock people's hearts..." said Riku. "I wonder..."  
  
"What are you going to do, Riku?" asked Sora.  
  
Riku didn't say anything and headed over to the Dark Keyblade. Cloud looked at Riku.  
  
"Riku! Hold on!" said Cloud.  
  
"Does he know what he's about to do?" said Squall.  
  
"I think so..." said Sora.  
  
Riku smiled at the threesome and plunged the Dark Keyblade into his heart. When he did so, all of the princesses' hearts returned including Kairi's. Riku started to glow and slowly started to fall. At the same time, his Keyblade went to Sora, and Kairi woke up. Sora looked at Riku.  
  
"Riku... Riku!" exclaimed Sora.  
  
Kairi got up and saw Riku falling. She ran to him.  
  
"Riku!" said Kairi.  
  
Both she and Sora tried to catch Riku before he fell, but he disappeared. Sora and Kairi looked up at the sparkling trail of lights that was once Riku.  
  
"Riku!" said Kairi.  
  
"Come back, Riku!" said Sora. 


	12. Chapter 12: Fighting the Darkness Within

Chapter 12: Fighting the Darkness Within  
  
Riku looks around at the darkness surrounding him.  
  
"What's happening to me?" asked Riku. "I'm falling... falling into darkness..."  
  
Meanwhile the others are extremely worried about Riku. Kairi and Sora looked at each other.  
  
"Can Riku really be-?" started Sora.  
  
"No! He can't be gone!" said Kairi. "I won't let him go!"  
  
Just then, Shade appeared and looked at the awake Kairi as well as the other members of Riku's team.  
  
"So, you have awakened at last, Princess," said Shade. "With you awake, the Keyhole is now complete. You have served your purpose, but now it is over."  
  
Sora, Cloud, and Squall all ready their weapons to protect Kairi.  
  
"Stop right there!" said Sora. "Don't you make another move towards Kairi!"  
  
Cloud and Squall are also ready to attack should Shade come towards Kairi. Just then, they saw that the Heartless were coming. Cloud looked at Sora.  
  
"Keep Kairi protected, Sora!" said Cloud. "We'll watch your back!"  
  
"Right!" said Sora.  
  
"But we can't leave Riku!" said Kairi.  
  
"We'll find him soon!" said Sora. "You can count on that!"  
  
With that, Sora led the team out of the Grand Chapel and headed for the Entrance Hall. They weren't the only ones heading that way. A Shadow Heartless also was heading that way. Sora looks back.  
  
"A Heartless is after us!" said Sora.  
  
"I'll take care of it," said Cloud.  
  
He tried to kill the Shadow, but it acted a lot like a friend of theirs. Kairi blinked.  
  
"Riku?" said Kairi. "Is that you?"  
  
"Uh-oh!" said Sora.  
  
The team and the lone Shadow are soon surrounded by other Shadow Heartless. Sora, Cloud, and Squall take their battle posistions. Kairi looked at the Shadow that was her friend, Riku.  
  
"This time, I'll protect you," said Kairi.  
  
The other Shadows got near Kairi and the Shadow she's holding on to. Sora looked over to Kairi.  
  
"Kairi!" exclaimed Sora.  
  
A blinding light appeared, and the other Shadows are eliminated. Riku returned back to normal, and he embraced Kairi.  
  
"Kairi..." said Riku. "Thank you."  
  
"Riku..." said Kairi.  
  
The others looked and saw that Riku is back with them.  
  
"Riku!" said Sora. "Catch!"  
  
He tossed the Oblivion Keyblade back to Riku who caught it... and just in time too. More Shadows surrounded the team and Kairi, but they are destroyed by the Beast. Riku looked at the Beast.  
  
"Come with us!" said Riku.  
  
"I cannot leave yet," said the Beast. "I must find Belle before I can leave this place."  
  
"All right," said Sora, "We'll be back to help you find Belle. You can count on that!"  
  
With that, the team escaped leaving the Beast to battle the Heartless at Hollow Bastion. The team decided to return to Besaid Island to discuss what they should do next. 


	13. Chapter 13: To Stop the Heartless

Chapter 13: To Stop the Heartless  
  
After discussing what to do with Cid, the team headed to find the new Navigator gummi that Cid had hidden. After doing so, Sora and Riku talked to Kairi before they leave.  
  
"We looked everywhere for you," said Riku, "but it turned out that you were right there with us. Now, we're all back together."  
  
"Yes," said Kairi, "but we have to help everyone else that has had their hearts taken away from them."  
  
"When I turned into a Heartless, you saved me, remember?" asked Riku.  
  
Riku recalled his memories of when he was a Heartless.  
  
"I was lost in the darkness. I couldn't find my way. As I stumbled through the dark, I started forgetting things-my friends, who I was. The darkness almost swallowed me, but then I heard your voice-your voice," said Riku as his memory ended. "Your brought me back. You and Sora did."  
  
"We couldn't stop thinking about you," said Sora.  
  
"You are our friend," said Kairi. "You rescued us when we were in danger, and that makes you a true friend."  
  
"That's it!" said Riku. "Our hearts were connected, and the light of from them broke through the darkness to lead me from the darkness and into the light!"  
  
"A light can break through the darkness..." said Sora. "I guess it is really more than a fairy tail."  
  
Kairi wanted to come, but Sora said that no matter where they were at, they'd always be together and not alone. Kairi nodded and gave Riku her special lucky charm: the Oathkeeper. She looked at Riku.  
  
"Promise to bring that back to me, okay?" asked Kairi.  
  
"I promise," said Riku.  
  
With that, Riku and Sora headed to join Cloud and Squall on their mission to get back to Hollow Bastion and seal the Keyhole. They took the gummi to Cid, and he installed it into the Gummi Ship. Afterwards, the team headed back to Hollow Bastion to stop the Heartless once and for all. 


	14. Chapter 14: Sealing the Final Keyhole

Chapter 14: Sealing the Final Keyhole  
  
Upon reaching Hollo Bastion, the team heads to the Rising Falls area to find the Beast. They discover that all of the princesses are still inside Hollow Bastion. The Beast joins the team, and the team heads inside Hollow Bastion. In the library, the team watches the reuniting of Belle and the Beast. She tells the team that the other princesses and her are holding back the darkness but can't keep it up for much longer. Riku nodded.  
  
"Don't worry," said Riku. "We'll seal up the Keyhole.  
  
Belle nodded and gave Sora the Divine Rose Keychain. Then the team headed to the Castle Chapel where they met up with the princesses. They found out that Shade had vanished, but the darkness was still pouring out of the Keyhole. They also discovered that Shade was smiling while he was taken by the darkness. The team then headed to the Dark Depths where they encounted a Behemoth that was guarding the last Keyhole. By defeating it, they gained the Omega Arts. Then, Sora and Riku headed back to the Grand Hall where Aeris was waiting along with Yuffie.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" asked Cloud.  
  
"We came on Cid's ship," said Aeris.  
  
"We're going to help get the Princesses back home," said Yuffie.  
  
"All the worlds will be restored hopefully once Shade has been defeated."  
  
"We're not sure about your island tho."  
  
"That's okay," said Riku. "We've found each other and settled on a brand new island."  
  
"Yea," said Sora. "We may have lost our home, but we haven't lost our friends."  
  
"That's the spirit, you two," said Squall.  
  
"Let's go seal that Keyhole so that the darkness will stop coming through it," said Cloud.  
  
The team nodded, and they headed back to the Dark Depths. Sora and Riku pointed their Keyblades at the Keyhole, and two beams of light shot out and into the Keyhole. There was a locking sound, and Hollow Bastion was sealed once more. However, like the last time, the team would have to go elsewhere to find where the evil was truely coming from and stop Shade before he could make a comeback. Back in the Castle Chapel, the team talks with the Princesses.  
  
"I can feel the darkness growing someplace far away," said Jasmine.  
  
"It must be the heart of all darkness," said Aurora.  
  
"If that is the case," said Sora, "that must be where Shade went!"  
  
"Well, if Shade did go there," said Riku, "we must take the Gummi Ship and go destroy both Shade and the Heartless!"  
  
The princesses nod.  
  
"A Worthy answer, Keyblade masters," said Cinderella. "To you two, we bestoe this power on you to aid in your quest to destroy the Heartless."  
  
With that, the team's Fira magic got upgraded to Firaga. Waving good-bye to the princesses and their friends, the team boarded the Gummi Ship and headed off towards the Heart of Darkness, the End of the World. 


	15. Chapter 15: The Heart of Darkness Reveal...

Chapter 15: The Heart of Darkness Reveals Itself  
  
Upon reaching this desolate and forboding world, the team realized that this was what had become of all worlds taken over by the Heartless.  
  
"Wow..." said Sora. "Is this what happens to worlds taken over by the Heartless?"  
  
"I dunno," said Riku. "But, they'll be restored once we defea Shade, right?"  
  
"I'm guessing so," said Cloud. "At least, that's what Aeris told me."  
  
"However, when we do defeat Shade and restore these worlds, they will become disconnected," said Squall.  
  
"But, what does that mean for us and this world?" asked Sora.  
  
"It will most likely disappear because it is a Heartless world," said Cloud. "Even if we do disappear, our hearts won't, and we'll be able to find our friends once again."  
  
"Yea," said Riku. "You're right, Cloud."  
  
He looked at the Oathkeeper Keychain Kairi had given him.  
  
-I'll return this, Kairi,- Riku thought to himself. -I promise this.-  
  
The team headed through the first area carefully dodging the black spheres that came down. If they got hit with one of the spheres, they would have to battle some Heartless, including Invisibles, Darkballs, and Angel Stars. They also had to navigate the maze of the invisible walls in order to get to the Gate of the Dark. The team found that if the swung their weapons at the walls, they would make a clanging noise, but if nothing was heard, that was an opening in the walls. They carefully navigated the area while picking up items and dodging dark spheres before reaching the ominious Gate to the Dark, a swirlling portal in the center of a ring of stones. However, to get into that area, the team had to defeat another Behemoth which they did.  
  
Once they jumped into the portal, the team landed in a garden of Gummi where they had to navigate to get down to the glowing portal at the bottom of the shaft. They had to fight Heartless there as well to gain items and make it down to the bottom portal. Resting up, the team jumped into the portal to find the Intersection of Worlds which was the place that the Heartless were getting into all of the worlds at. To get through this area, the team had to go back to each world and defeat the Heartless there and gain one item each from a chest in the area they were in.  
  
The team entered the shaft of light on the far left of them and found themselves back on Besaid Island on the cliff that overlooked the sea. This was where Squall and Riku had fought Darkside before, but all that they had to fight this time around were some Shadows and Soldiers. Once they were defeated, the team collected a Magic Armlet from a chest before returning to the Intersection of Worlds.  
  
The shaft of light next to the Besaid Island shaft took the team back to the city of Agrabah. Here, the team had to fight through the Bazzar, the Alley, and up to the Castle Gates fighting Heartless such as the Bandits, Large Bandits, Pot Spiders, and Air Bandits. From a chest on top of the Castle Gates, the team collected a Ray of Light. They were then teleported back to the Intersection of Worlds.  
  
The next world was the Cemetary from Halloween Town. In this creepy area, the team fought Wight Knights, Gargoyles, and Search Ghosts. Once all of these Heartless were subdued, the team collected a Holy Circlett. Then it was back to the Intersection of Worlds.  
  
The portal in the middle of the Intersection of Worlds led to the next section of portals, so the team headed that way. The portal to the far left took the team to Alantica where Sea Neons, Screwdrivers, Sheltering Zones, and Aquatanks awaited the team. Once these were gone, the team collected an Inferno Band.  
  
The team's next portal took them to Neverland where they fought inside of the Jolly Roger's Hull and on the deck for air battles. When they got done there, they collected a Raven's Claw.  
  
The final portal before they could head onto the next area took them to Hollow Bastion's Main Hall where they had to fight Defenders, Wyverns, and Darkballs. Once done there, the team got a Angel Bangle.  
  
When they returned to the Intersection of Worlds, the team touched another portal and headed to another area where they entered a red flame in a crater to get to another part of the area. Here, they took on some more enemies to destroy a large Heartless insignia to open up doors to a large and diabolical lab. When they examined the machine in the lab, more enemies appeared, and the team fought them as well. Once this was done, the team jumped through the burning hole and down a vortex pit to fight their next boss, Chernabog. This flying demonic gargoyle was only vunerable in one spot - his head. However when attacking the boss, the team had to watch out for his attacks. Once Chernabog was defeated, the team headed on to the next part.  
  
When the team got into the next area, they discovered that they were in a world that was frozen during its destruction. They continued through the increasing destruction until they make it to another portal where they're force to fight another Behemoth. As they did so, they saw that the large Heartless crest started to erode away. They continued to battle enemies until the Heartless crest was gone, and they entered another room. This area didn't have any enemies, so the team used this area to rest up before what they believed to be the final battles were to be fought. However, before Riku and Sora could open the final door, they heard something.  
  
"Huh?" said Riku.  
  
Cloud looked at Riku.  
  
"What's wrong, Riku?" asked Cloud.  
  
"Don't you hear it?" said Sora. "There!"  
  
However, Cloud nor Squall could hear the mysterious voice, but Sora and Riku could hear it.  
  
"Careful. This is the last haven you'll find here. Beyond, there is no light to protect you, but don't be afraid. Your hearts are the mightiest weapons of all. Remember, you are the ones who will open the door to the light."  
  
Squall blinks.  
  
"I don't hear anything," said Squall.  
  
"Maybe it was just our imaginations," said Riku.  
  
"Yea," said Cloud. "Perhaps you two should take a rest before we continue. You two have been under a lot of stress as of lately."  
  
"Yea," said Sora. 


	16. Chapter 16: The Final Battle

Chapter 16: The Final Battle  
  
When Riku and Sora were completely rested up, the team headed to the door, and Riku and Sora opened it up. The team headed through the door and found themselves at what appeared to be Destiny Islands which shocked Sora, but Riku had seen it all before. Sora looked at Riku.  
  
"Is this... Is this our island?" asked Sora.  
  
Riku shook his head.  
  
"It looks like it," said Riku, "but it's not. This happened to me the last time as well. They are using this as a ploy to get us to be lured into the fact that we're back home."  
  
It's right about then that they hear Shade's voice but can't find where it's coming from.  
  
"This world has been connected," said Shade's voice.  
  
As Shade said that, the objects on the island started to disappear. Sora looked around.  
  
"Whoa!" said Sora. "What's going on, Riku?"  
  
"The world is being eclisped by darkness..." Riku said grimly.  
  
As he said that, the ocean turned purple. Sora started to get worried as did Squall and Cloud.  
  
"This is the same thing that happened to our worlds as well," said Squall.  
  
"Really?" said Sora.  
  
Cloud nodded.  
  
"I can remember it as if it was yesterday," said Cloud.  
  
The island changed up, and the team could see Shade's back turned towarads them. The team approached Shade. Shade turned towards them and grinned evilly.  
  
"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came," said Shade. "You see, darkness is the heart's true essence."  
  
"You're wrong!" said Riku. "It's true that the heart is sometimes weak, but it was never born of darkness. No, the heart always has a light deep within it that'll never go out, never be taken by the darkness."  
  
"That's right!" said Sora.  
  
Shade looked at them as a large menacing Heartless, a Behemoth, appeared behind him.  
  
"So, you have come this far and still you understand nothing. Every light must fade. Every heart return to darkness!" said Shade. "So prepare to have your hearts return to darkness forever!"  
  
The team fought Shade. However unlike his father Ansem that Riku, Cloud, and Squall had fought, Shade would summon up various Heartless to attack the team. Only by defeating each of the Heartless that Shade summoned up would the team be able to battle Shade before he sent the next wave of Heartless at the team.  
  
The first Heartless boss that was fought was the Behemoth. Once the Behemoth was defeated, the team started using combo attacks as well as summons to wear down Shade until he produced a dark sheild around him. Then Shade summoned up the Pot Centipede. Once this was defeated, the dark sheild vanished, and the team could once again attacked Shade. Once Shade had taken on a specific amount of damage, he put the dark shield up again and summoned up Darkside and Anisora. As each one of these were defeated, the shield would drop for team to attack, but they had to watch out for the other enemy that Shade had summoned because it would attack them while they were attacking Shade. The team decided to take out the larger Darkside first. Then when the shield went down, one half of the team would concentrate on attacking Shade while the other half of the team would concentrate on attacking AniSora. Once AniSora was taken care of, the team would all attack Shade until the dark sheild went up. When it did this time, Shade summoned AniRiku and a mess of Shadows, Soldiers, and Wyverns. The team could tell that it was getting close to the end of the battle, and they went after AniRiku first so that half of the team could finish off Shade while the other half took out the Heartless that he had summoned.  
  
Soon, Shade was defeated, and the Heartless that remained disappeared. However, the team landed in what could be called an endless abyss. The team looked around.  
  
"Wha-?" said Sora.  
  
"What is this place?" said Riku.  
  
"I don't know," said Cloud.  
  
"Hey!" said Squall. "What happened to Shade?"  
  
"Behold the endless abyss! Within lies the heart of all worlds: Kingdom Hearts!" said Shade's voice.  
  
The white door that was Kingdom Hearts could now be seen.  
  
"Look as hard as you are able. You'll not find even the smallest glimmer of light. From those dark depths are all hearts born, even yours," said Shade.  
  
Shade appears in his ultimate form as the World of Chaos. Cloud and Squall disappeared, but Riku and Sora knew they'd get them back if they could defeat this final challenge. The two chosen ones fought Shade until he froze himself with a Heartless crest that protected him. However, the two friends found a portal that led inside of the World of Chaos and went inside it to defeat a Room Core. After that, Sora and Riku defeated other parts of the World of Chaos and eventually found Cloud and Squall. After getting the team back together, the group headed to defeat a final Room Core causing Shade to revive. The team fought Shade one more time before the World of Chaos was defeated. 


	17. Chapter 17: Kingdom Hearts Goodbye, Rik...

Chapter 17: Kingdom Hearts - Goodbye, Riku and Cloud  
  
Shade, even though he was defeated, laughed.  
  
"It is futile. The Keyblade alone cannot seal the door to darkness," said Shade.   
  
He looked to the Kingdom Hearts and raised his hands high. "  
  
"Kingdom Hearts! Fill me with the power of darkness..." commanded Shade.  
  
The doors of Kingdom Hearts opened, and a bit of black smoke flowed out. Shade smiled.  
  
"Supreme darkness..." said Shade.  
  
However, Riku and Sora shook their heads.  
  
"We believe in our hearts that Kingdom Hearts isn't the door to the darkness," said Riku.  
  
"It is a door to the LIGHT!" said Sora.  
  
As they said that, light flooded out from Kingdom Hearts and washed over Shade. Shade can't believe it.  
  
"Why...?" said Shade.  
  
The light consumed Shade, and he vanished for good. However, the doors to Kingdom Hearts are still partially open, so the team went to close them. It is then that Sora noticed something. Riku looked at his friend.  
  
"Sora, what's wrong?" asked Riku.  
  
"Look!" said Sora.  
  
The team looked and is shocked to see...  
  
"The Heartless?!" said a shocked Sora, Squall, and Cloud.  
  
"We can't give up!" said Riku as he ran into Kingdom Hearts to close it from that side. Sora looked at his friend.  
  
"Riku!" said Sora.  
  
"Come on, Sora!" said Riku. "Together, we can do it! And don't worry! I'll be back someday because there is always a door to the light even in the deepest darkness!"  
  
"But, you won't be able to survive the onslaught of Heartless behind the doors!" said Sora.  
  
"Not without help, he won't," said Cloud.  
  
With that, Cloud headed inside of Kingdom Hearts with Riku. He looked at Squall.  
  
"Tell Aeris I'll be back someday, okay?" said Cloud.  
  
Squall nodded.  
  
"Gotcha," said Squall.  
  
"Together, we can close this door!" said Riku.  
  
"Right!" said Sora.  
  
The team finally got the door to close, but as it did so, Riku had one final thing to say to Sora.  
  
"Take good care of her," said Riku.  
  
Sora nodded, and the door finally closed trapping Riku and Cloud inside, but Squall and Sora knew they'd see their friends again someday because their hearts would bring them back to them and their friends.  
  
After Kingdom Hearts closed, Riku and Sora used their Keyblades to seal the doors so that they would never be open again. Once they did that, the ground on Sora and Squall's side began to fragment showing that the worlds were begining to split apart. Squall and Sora saw their friends waving to them from Besaid Island.  
  
"Sora! Squall!" said Tidus. "Jump on, and quick!"  
  
The two nodded, and they jumped and landed on Besaid Island. As Besaid Island drifted away, Sora and Squall took one more look at the white doors that were Kingdom Hearts and wondered how their friends were doing behind it and fighting the Heartless army they'd seen before.... 


End file.
